CONCACAF Announce New U17 World Cup Qualifiers Format
IslandStats.com
CONCACAF has announced new formats for the Confederation’s Under 17 Men’s and Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.
The announcement follows FIFA’s confirmation earlier this year that it will increase the frequency of the FIFA Under 17 Men’s World Cup and FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup. Both will become annual competitions with expanded participation to 48 and 24 teams, respectively.
CONCACAF Under 17 Men’s Qualifiers
The new CONCACAF Under 17 Men’s Qualifiers will consist of a single round. The participating Concacaf Member Associations will be divided into eight groups, with the number of teams per group varying depending on the total number of participants.
After round-robin play, in which each team will play against each team in its group once, the group winners (eight teams in total) will qualify for the FIFA Under 17 World Cup.
The first edition of the CONCACAF Under 17 Men’s Qualifiers under the new format will take place between February 7th and 16th, 2025.
The 2025 CONCACAF Under 17 Men’s Qualifiers official draw will take place on October 24 at the Concacaf Headquarters in Miami.
CONCACAF Under 17 Women’s Qualifiers
The new CONCACAF Under 17 Women’s Qualifiers will consist of two rounds, with the four highest-ranked participating CONCACAF Member Associations (based on the CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Rankings) receiving a bye to the Final Round.
For Round One, the Member Associations ranked fifth and below will be split into six groups, with the number of teams per group varying depending on the total number of participants. After round-robin play, the six group winners and the two best second-place finishers (eight teams in total) will advance to the Final Round, joining the four top-ranked teams (twelve in total).
The Final Round will also be played in a group format, consisting of three groups of four teams each. After round-robin play, the three group winners and the best second-place finisher (four teams in total) will qualify for the FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup.
The first edition of the CONCACAF Under 17 Women’s Qualifiers under the new format will take place between January 27th and February 1st, 2025 (Round One) and March 31st and April 6th, 2025 (Final Round).
The 2025 CONCACAF Under 17 Women’s Qualifiers Round One official draw will take place on October 16 at the Concacaf Headquarters in Miami.
